Types / Self-esteem
One scale, one number
Self-esteem
One published scale of ten statements gives one number
What this scale asks about
The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was written by sociologist Morris Rosenberg and published in 1965. It asks people to rate ten statements about their overall sense of worth, using four answer choices for each one. This site uses the statements, answer choices, and scoring word for word. The scale asks about a broad view of self-worth, instead of a particular skill, role, or area of life. Each answer contributes to the final number.
The result describes how someone rated their own sense of worth on one day. It doesn’t name a condition, set a threshold, or predict what will happen in someone’s life. A score can’t decide whether someone is doing well, explain why they feel as they do, or replace a conversation with a qualified professional. It records responses to ten statements, and those responses can change as circumstances change.
The 10 statements, their answer choices and their scoring are the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965), used word for word. The University of Maryland’s Department of Sociology says the scale “is now in the public domain.”
How ten answers become one number
10 statements produce a score from 10 to 40. Each answer is worth points, and the ten points add up. Five statements are worded positively and five count in reverse, so agreeing with everything doesn’t produce a high score by itself. All ten answers are needed for a score.
Positive statements
5 statements
Self-critical statements, scored in reverse
5 statements
Self-esteem score
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One scale, one number
The scale produces one number from all ten answers. It describes how somebody rates their overall sense of worth, not any particular part of life and not how they feel about a skill. The ten responses belong to one measure.
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No cut-off
The scale names no condition and sets no threshold. A score here doesn’t mean anything is wrong. If the way somebody feels about themselves is worrying them, a counselor or a doctor is the right person to talk to about it.
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The answer order
The published answer sheet puts Strongly Agree first. This site draws the four answers the other way round, so the scale runs in the same direction as every other rating assessment here and nobody answers the opposite of what they meant. Nothing else changed. The same statements, the same answers, and the same scoring remain in place.
Why there are no types here
Every other assessment on this site gives a reader one member of a set. Those sets are what the other libraries hold, from interests and work styles to traits and parts of life. This assessment gives a single number on one scale, so there is nothing to list as a set of self-esteem types. The result belongs on the result page, where its number can be read with the comparison and explanation that accompany it.
The structure underneath the number is the two halves of the same scale. They are part of the scoring rule. Five statements count in reverse, and the halves don’t represent two things to look at. Turning them into two kinds of self-esteem would invent a distinction Rosenberg’s scale doesn’t make. Someone looking for an assessment with a library can visit the hub and browse the other sets.
Start with one clear measure
10 statements return one number, making this the shortest assessment on the site. The result gives the score and explains what it can mean.
Questions
Is this a diagnosis?
No. It describes how you answered 10 statements on one day. It has no cut-off score and names no condition. If how you feel about yourself worries you, a counselor or doctor is the right person to talk to.
Why do some statements count backward?
Rosenberg wrote five statements negatively so that agreeing with everything does not produce a high score by itself. Disagreeing with a self-critical statement adds points, as the scale’s published scoring says. The same study found that people in different countries read those five a little differently[3].
- 3 Schmitt, D. P., & Allik, J. (2005). Simultaneous administration of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale in 53 nations: Exploring the universal and culture-specific features of global self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89(4), 623–642.
Will my score change later?
It may, from day to day and mood to mood. Over years, self-esteem tends to be fairly steady relative to other people[6] but is “by no means immutable”[5], and on average it rises through adulthood until about 60[4]. Take it again another day and compare.
- 4 Orth, U., Erol, R. Y., & Luciano, E. C. (2018). Development of self-esteem from age 4 to 94 years: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 144(10), 1045–1080.
- 5 Orth, U., & Robins, R. W. (2014). The development of self-esteem. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23(5), 381–387.
- 6 Trzesniewski, K. H., Donnellan, M. B., & Robins, R. W. (2003). Stability of self-esteem across the life span. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(1), 205–220.
Who am I compared with?
You are compared with the 2,782 people in the United States in Schmitt and Allik’s 2005 study[3]. This group was mostly college students who volunteered, a convenience sample, and the comparison group answered the same statements with the same answers. The group’s average was 32.2, adjusted for gender. The comparison group is a reference point, not everyone, and people who take the assessment here may differ from these 2,782 people.
- 3 Schmitt, D. P., & Allik, J. (2005). Simultaneous administration of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale in 53 nations: Exploring the universal and culture-specific features of global self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89(4), 623–642.
The statements come from the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, written by Morris Rosenberg and published in 1965.